Conventionally, a vehicle side structure of an automobile is known, in which, for example, side sills are protruded outward in a lateral direction, to protect doors from chippings due to collision by pebbles or the like, which are thrown up by front wheels (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-188802).
In the vehicle side structure described in the above-referenced publication, each side sill is reinforced by a reinforcing member in a plate shape having a joined portion to be joined to the lower end of an outer side sill and a protrusion that protrudes outward in the lateral direction from the joined portion.